India: Amidst the escalating tensions between India and China, shopkeepers in the country, particularly the ones that are in Ahmedabad’s largest mobile phone market said that they will stop selling Chinese gadgets.
Businessmen in the country are also urging companies in India to start manufacturing good quality and affordable devices to provide an alternative.
Not only that, but the vendors in the famous markets have also covered the signboards of Chinese brands in their market with banners that are saying “Made in India”.
The market is home to over 50 major retail and wholesale shops that sell smartphones and other electronic devices on a daily basis.
The call for a boycott comes after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent face-off with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley, of Ladakh, last month.
Rakesh Mehta, a shop owner, said:
We have decided to boycott Chinese items. In the coming days, we will permanently remove the signboards of the Chinese mobile phone brands. Since we have already stocked China-made devices, we will sell them in the next one month and then buy only Indian or South Korean goods.
A wholesale trader said that no one will sell Chinese products if traders get decent devices that are manufactured in India.
A wholesale trader said:
I support this call for boycott, but it’s also a fact that Chinese goods is a lot cheaper. We are selling it because customers are not ready to shell out more for the high-end products.
This is not the first time Indian nationals or the government has taken action against China or Chinese made products.
On Monday, India banned 59 applications that are developed by Chinese Developers.
Some of the applications are TikTok, UC Browser, SHAREit, and WeChat.
The government of India said the applications bring risk to the privacy of Indians that are using them.